Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to data management, and more specifically, to visualizing a hierarchical structure of data (e.g., for viewing and editing).
Description of the Related Art
Open data, the concept of making certain data freely available to the public, is of growing importance. For example, demand for government transparency is increasing, and in response, governmental entities release a variety of data to the public. One example relates to financial transparency, where city governments make budgets and other finances available to the public. This allows for more effective public oversight. For instance, a user can analyze the budget of a city to determine how much the city is spending for particular departments and programs. In addition, the user can compare budgetary data between different cities to determine, e.g., how much other cities are spending on respective departments. This latter example is particularly useful for a department head at one city who wants to compare spending, revenue, or budgets with comparable departments in other cities.
Financial and budgetary data for a given governmental entity is typically voluminous, which creates the need for data to be presentable to the user, such that the user can meaningfully analyze the data. To this effect, governmental entities use a chart of accounts to present financial data in an organized fashion. As known, a chart of accounts is a densely structured document that provides identifiable terminology and clearly defines hierarchies within a given city. A user may reference a chart of accounts to identify, e.g., budgetary and spending data of various departments. However, the user might only be concerned with a subsection of the chart of accounts, such as a department that he or she is affiliated with. Because the data provided by a chart of accounts can be complex and voluminous, the user may have difficulty navigating through the chart of accounts to reach any desired information.